N Chandrababu Naidu said access to
electricity was a key socio-economic development indicator, but this was
an area where there was still a significant gap in India.
Vijayawada: Andhra
Pradesh has become the second state in the country after Gujarat to
achieve 100 per cent electrification of households, a latest report has
said.
JM Financials published the report based on a national-level survey on electrification in various states.
Discussing
this through a tele-conference with top officials of the Energy
Department on Tuesday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said, “We
achieved 100 per cent electrification by June-end. Now, you have to set a
target of ensuring uninterrupted world-class quality power supply.”
He
said access to electricity was a key socio-economic development
indicator, but this was an area where there was still a significant gap
in India.
About 35 per cent rural households in states like Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Assam still lacked access to
power supply, he claimed.
The Chief Minister asked the
Department officials to chalk out an action plan to be implemented from
the grassroots level so as to make the power sector self-sufficient in
the long run.
“Whatever we have achieved in the power sector in the last two years is no doubt very significant, but is not sufficient.
“We
have to render world-class services to the consumers by providing
uninterrupted power supply on par with global standards, at affordable
prices,” he said.
“Continuous improvement is required and the sector should keep abreast of the latest technological developments,” he added.
Principal
Secretary (Energy and Infrastructure) Ajay Jain informed Naidu they
were preparing a strategy plan to reduce overall transmission and
distribution losses, which currently stood at 10.3 per cent, to single
digit by the end of the current financial year.
An investment of
Rs 20,000 crore has been proposed over the next five years to strengthen
the transmission and distribution systems and extend power supply
connection on demand, he said.
Energy efficiency and conservation
activities would also be taken up in a big way in all government
departments and other sectors, Jain said.